


baby be with me (so happily)

by localopa



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Bottom Louis, Fluff, Hair Stylist Harry Styles, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Pop Punk AU, Pop Punk Louis Tomlinson, Smut, Strangers to Lovers, its not much but it’s there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:07:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29230485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/localopa/pseuds/localopa
Summary: pop punk band owls on the avenue just signed to their first label, powered by soup. harry is assigned to do their hair. louis has a few problems with that
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 65





	baby be with me (so happily)

**Author's Note:**

> god this story is a labor of love. this is based on a manip i saw where harry was cutting louis’ hair and then louis messing up harry’s hair and, as a hair stylist, i couldn’t not write this. owls on the avenue is my imaginary pop punk band name so i’m glad i finally get to use it. huge thank you to daisy, to which this fic wouldn’t have happened because i constantly ask her for help and guidance. and she came up with the label name. AND she beta’d it so that helps. another huge thanks to cade for being wonderful and helping me out with decisions and whatnot. and finally, thanks to everyone who i have sent snippets of this fic to and who have let me ramble about this fic to, you guys are the unspoken heroes of my life. title of this fic comes from happily by one direction. enjoy. 
> 
> xx. oliver

“absolutely not,” louis slams his hand on the table, standing up from his seat. “if we’re doing this, we’re doing it our way.”

“louis,” the american accent raises the hairs on the back of his neck, making louis grit his teeth. “we understand that you want to be authentic.  _ we  _ want you to be authentic. but we require this of all our bands.”

louis feels a hand on his arm, looking back he sees zayn giving him a look. grumping to himself, he sits back down, crossing his arms over his chest. he nods to the executive. “i’m not cutting me hair.”

the executive, name currently escaping him, gives him a look. he opens his mouth before louis cuts him off. 

“if we’re required to have a hair stylist, fine. but if she brings any of those buzzers or cutters near me head, there’ll be ‘ell to pay.”

“he.”

louis narrows his eyes. “what’d you say?”

the executive clears his throat. “your hair stylist is a man.”

louis can hear the laughter coming from his right where niall and liam are, niall lightly shoving him. he tries not to let his jaw drop. he knows men are in the hair industry, it’s not all women. hell, his uncle is a hair stylist. but the last thing he expected was a man to be in charge of his hair. 

“some kind of fairy, ain’t he?” niall wheezes, thinking the joke is just  _ too  _ funny. 

louis forces himself to laugh, knowing deep down he’s exactly the kind of  _ fairy _ niall is referring to. 

“excuse me, gentlemen, but here at powered by soup, we do not condone nor do we tolerate any kind of comments like what you just made. we will not tolerate any sort of hate speech, slurs, homophobic or transphobic comments towards any of our staff,” the executive levels a look on each one of the band members. “i’ll let this one go, but if this continues, we will not hesitate to terminate your contracts with our label. is that clear?”

the four men nod, louis not able to make eye contact with the others. only zayn knows he’s gay, and that’s only because he’s known him his whole life. niall and liam only came along during uni, where they heard about another gay student hang themselves for the ridicule they received for coming out at a smaller school. 

_ “kind of deserves it, don’t you think?” niall says, turning to louis. _

_ “what do you mean?”  _

_ “deserves it for being gay, not worth the oxygen.” _

the executive, louis later learns his name is neil, continues on about other requirements, nothing too substantial to make a fuss about, before dismissing them. they’re told to report back the next day to meet their team, and with that, the meeting is over. niall and liam make a break for it, probably embarrassed by the show neil made of them. neil leaves, leaving zayn and louis in the conference room by themselves. 

“i’m sorry,” zayn says before louis can get a word out. 

“what for?” louis asks, looking over at him. 

“i’m sorry you can’t be out to them.”

louis sighs. “it’s not your fault they’re asses.”

zayn lets out a short laugh. “it’s not, but i know you’re sad.”

“i’m sad all the time, z,” he gets up out of the chair, walking towards the exit. he stops when zayn catches up to him, pulling him in for a hug. 

“you don’t smile like you used to, loubear. i just want you to be happy,” zayn whispers and -  _ oh _ . his mum’s nickname she used for him. 

a tear slips out of louis’ eye as he hugs him back. “i will be.”

“i hope.”

-

his name is harry styles, which is the perfect name for a hair stylist.

harry’s long hair lands on his shoulders quite nicely, his shirt unbuttoned to the middle of his chest, showing off two swallow tattoos and just a peak of another. his legs are covered with black jeans and golden boots round out the outfit. there’s a hat perched on his head, holding his bangs out of his face. he has dimples, deep crevices from what he can see, and a single black nose ring on his left nostril. 

he’s every wet dream louis’ ever had wrapped up into one incredibly gorgeous human being. 

“button up your shirt, it makes me uncomfortable,” liam says, leaning back in his chair.

neil gives him a stern look. “what did i say about those kinds of comments?”

“didn't say nothing about his sexuality, sir. just stating that i am, in fact, uncomfortable with the amount of skin he is showing.”

neil looks like he’s going to say something else before harry stops him. “don’t worry, mr. hodgman. he’s just not secure in his sexuality enough to be in the presence of a man who is.”

liam slowly gets up from his chair, “what did you say?”

harry shrugs. “you’re obviously projecting some kind of fragile masculinity on me because you’re not comfortable enough as a straight man to see someone who’s confident in their sexuality and in their body. but don’t worry,” he smiles as he buttons up his shirt, “i won’t take any offense to it.”

niall whistles out, zayn laughs awkwardly, and louis thinks he’s hard in his jeans. 

“right,” neil claps his hands together, looking around the room. “if you guys would like to mingle and get to know each other, that’d be lovely. boys, we will be seeing you next week to talk about that album.” 

with that, neil looks around the room, bowing before leaving. he sees out of the corner of his eye his bandmates going and introducing themselves to the makeup person, a woman named jade, wardrobe person, a man who says to call him lewis, and the photographer, someone who introduces themselves as axel. louis stays put in his chair, hands under his thighs as he tries to will himself not to flip shit. 

everyone seems to be getting on well, from what louis can tell. even axel is enraptured with the story niall is telling despite niall having been blatantly rude about their identity. he doesn’t know why he’s experiencing what he thinks is a panic attack. his heart is beating out of his chest, he can feel himself shaking and sweat dripping down his face.

“you alright, mate?” louis’ head snaps towards his left, finding harry has sat next to him. harry raises his hands in defense. “no need to look at me like that, just asking a question.”

louis doesn’t know what he looks like, but he knows he looks a mess. his hair is pulled back under a headband, running late and that being the only thing that could tame his hair. he has bags under his eyes, skin paler than normal, and all louis wants to do is go home and curl into a ball. 

it’s not like panic attacks haven’t happened to him before, but it’s usually in the privacy of his shared flat with his band. in his room where nobody can hear him cry himself into a fitful sleep. 

“mate?” harry’s calm voice brings him back to the present, looking at him with wide eyes. “do i need to get someone?” louis shakes his head, a little too fast for what his body likes. “okay, can you breathe with me? just watch me and breathe with me.”

louis nods, staring at harry’s chest as it rises and falls. his nails scratch the soft surface of the chair under thighs, and suddenly the light is even too much for him to handle. squeezing his eyes shut, he tries to count his breathing, in for four, hold for four, out for four. faintly, he can feel a hand on his knee and the sound of footsteps coming closer. 

“what’s going on?” someone who sounds like zayn asks, a light kick to his foot following. 

“i don’t really know. i came over to talk and he looks like he’s going to shit himself,” harry answers for him.

“hey,” louis opens his eyes to find zayn crouched in front of him, hand on his other knee. “did you take your meds today?”

louis shakes his head, biting his lip. his cheeks pink up at the mention of his medication. he hates the fact he’s on them. it’s not punk rock to be dependent on medication in order to function. 

“meds?” harry asks, looking over from louis to zayn. 

“s’got bouts of depression and anxiety - don’t we all? sometimes, everything gets too much and he freaks out without meaning to. usually happens when he hasn’t taken his meds.”

“oh,” harry looks back over to louis. louis drops his head. “i hope i didn’t do anything wrong.”

zayn shakes his head. “he just needs someone to ground him every so often. remind him he’s not alone.” he reaches out to lift louis’ chin up, smiling at him. “stay with him for a bit, he’ll be better in no time.”

with that, zayn stands back up and walks back over to the rest of the band, waving off niall and liam’s concerns. they knew, to an extent, that louis has anxiety, but they don’t know how bad it can get. 

harry’s thumb is rubbing against his leg, his whole hand encapsulating his knee. louis doesn’t mean to, but he looks over to him, quizzical look on his face. 

“so,” harry starts, voice low and smooth like honey, “i hear we’re shaving your head.”

louis snickers, pushing him away. all previous anxiety seems to melt away. 

-

details are hashed out, and suddenly they’re announcing their first headlining tour. like an actual tour, not just a few shows that they leave for a couple weeks. but a months long, have opening acts, people are buying tickets to see  _ them _ tour. 

not only that, but they’re touring  _ internationally _ . 

okay, sure. it’s just a couple european countries and the states, but  _ international pop punk sensation owls on the avenue  _ has a better ring to it than anything else. 

louis won’t shut up when they’re about to post the tour poster on instagram, hair being styled by the one and only harry as they wait for the post to go live. harry’s currently plaiting his hair back, french plaits in his chestnut hair in an effort to calm him down. they’ve learned that louis calms down more if someone tries to distract him.

however, nothing can calm louis down with the amount of energy buzzing through him. 

“louis, for god’s sake, you were worse before our first show!” niall laughs, gently pushing louis enough to make him move slightly. he sends niall a dirty look before going back to staring at the picture on his phone. 

louis’ knee is bouncing, his thumb nail stuck in his mouth as he scrolls through texts from his mum telling him how proud she is of him. zayn and liam are looking at him with concern, niall is trying to lighten the mood, and all harry cares about is braiding plaits into louis’ hair. 

hands pat louis’ shoulders, fingers tapping his skin. “you’re all french braided up, lou,” harry tells him, and louis doesn’t have to look to know he’s got a goofy grin on his face. 

“it’s french  _ plaits _ , you scoundrel. me sisters will have yer head if they heard ya call it braids,” louis playfully snaps, harry rolling his eyes at him. 

“it’s live!” liam yells, making the room look at him. “the tour is live.”

-

it’s late, they’re at some bar in la, and louis wants to go home. 

it’s not that he doesn’t enjoy being out in public; he’s chosen a career where he’ll be heavily scrutinized by the public. he does, however, have a social battery and he can only take so much. which is why he’s in the alley next to the bar, chain smoking cigarettes while he waits to get enough energy to go back inside. 

“hey,” a voice calls, someone approaching him. “thought you'd gone.”

louis shakes his head, looking over at the person who’s broken his silence. it’s harry, hands in pockets as he kicks a pebble. 

“nope, not yet,” he says back, taking a drag of his cigarette. “what’re you doing out here?”

harry shrugs. “wasn't having that much fun.” louis laughs, shaking his head. harry furrows his brows. “what you laughing at?” 

“seemed like you were the life of the party, mate, s’all,” louis tells him plain and simple. he used to be the life of the party, back when he was in uni and he skipped class to get high. now, it feels like he can’t even stand to go out. 

“people are just drawn to me,” harry drawls, earning a snort from louis. “you got a problem, dude?” louis shakes his head again. “seems like you do.”

“i don’t, harold. not my fault people are  _ drawn to you,”  _ louis mocks, stubbing out his current cigarette to pull out another one. 

harry smacks it out of his hand before it reaches his lips. “dude, what’s wrong?”

louis’ eyes are trained in the broken cigarette on the ground of the alley, staring at it for a long moment before it hits him. he wants to go home, home to england, he wants his mum and he wants a hug from her while she tells him everything will be  _ okay, things are going to be okay.  _

before he knows it, harry’s arms are wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him into his chest so he can sob it out. he hasn’t cried like this in years, not since his piece of shit dad left when he was young. for what it’s worth, harry doesn’t question him further, just lets him cry until his cries turn into stuttered breaths. 

“wanna tell me what’s up, lou?” harry asks, not separating them. 

louis is the one who pulls away, head down as he wipes away tears. there’s a lot going on, a lot of emotions running through his body, and it just hit him all at once. he’s a month away from his first tour date, he’s in the closet, and all he wants to do is go home and be with his mum. he should feel on top of the world right now, along with his bandmates inside the club. instead, he’s crying out in some dirty alleyway with his hair stylist. 

“i’m gay,” is what louis says first, feeling a weight off his shoulders already. “i’m overwhelmed, i want me mum, and i’m  _ gay.” _

harry stares at him stunned for a second before he recovers. “i thought…”

“niall and liam don’t know,” louis laughs, the heels of his hands in his eyes. “god, they don’t know and they can’t know. it would ruin the band, and we  _ just  _ made it, harry. we finally got someone to listen to our demo and we got signed and it will ruin everything if i came out right now.”

“does zayn - ?”

“zayn knows, he’s known since i first knew. probably one of the first to find out. and he’s kept it a secret for this long. i’m fucking 24 and i’m still in the closet to two of my best mates.”

harry’s quiet for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. he pulls louis’ hands away from his face, a serious look on his face. “you need to tell them.”

louis shakes his head. “did you not just hear me? it would ruin the band! i can't tell them i’m gay now!”

“i understand being overwhelmed, i understand wanting your mom, but i can’t wrap my head around why you wouldn’t disclose this information to them before now.”

louis sighs. “you’ve seen how they are. they wouldn’t accept it.”

“that’s not very pop punk of them, now is it?”

“it’s not, no, but…” louis trails off, sighing again. “i’ve learned to deal with it. no guy has ever caught my eye, so it’s been easy to lie.”

harry drops his hands from louis’, pulling him back in for a hug. “you shouldn’t have to be afraid to be who you are.”

louis gulps as he hugs back. “that’s the thing, harry. i’ve always been afraid.”

-

it’s rehearsals. they're taking a break at the moment, so louis is answering some texts from his family. once he’s done cooing over his little brother and sister, he switches over to twitter and scrolls through his mentions. zayn is fucking around on his bass while niall tries to keep up with his drums. liam is off talking to his girlfriend or mum or someone. their audience consists of their manager, jade, lewis, and harry while axel is snapping pictures for the band’s instagram. which -  _ they have a fucking band instagram.  _

louis is taking a drink when he sees it. 

**chad @hillbillyanthem**

**_fucking hate @owlsontheave ESPECIALLY @louist91 limp wrist faggot_ **

louis chokes on his drink, eyes widening. he’s had his fair share of hate tweets, he knows he acts and looks feminine. ever since they gained notoriety, it’s been happening. 

curiosity gets the better of him and he scrolls through this guy’s twitter. apparently, his entire account is dedicated to being blatantly homophobic and transphobic to anyone who so much as looks at a man, woman, or person wrong. and that’s when he sees it. 

**chad @hillbillyanthem**

**_of course @louist91 gets onto a label and starts fucking his team. stupid twink fucking his way to the top_ **

attached is a photo of him and harry in the alleyway from the night they went out. they’re hugging, louis curled into harry’s chest as he wraps himself around louis as if to protect him. he didn’t think anyone would be taking pictures of them, not with their medium level of fame. 

apparently, louis is wrong. 

there’s enough time before he’s called back to rehearsals that he can go to the washroom and have a panic attack. so he sets his water bottle down next to zayn, giving him a nod before quickly walking off the stage. he makes it in before the heavy breathing starts, and he locks himself in the biggest stall before his hands shake too much. 

it’s not like he hasn’t been called all the slurs in the book before. he’s actually been called a  _ shirtlifter _ , which doesn't make sense at  _ all _ , but okay, janet. somehow it’s different now he’s been thrust into the public eye. this chad guy is apparently dedicating his time to hurling slurs at and degrading him on his twitter account, and that’s fucking shit. 

louis’ got his arms wrapped around his legs, head on his knees when he hears the door open. at first, he thinks it’s just someone in to use the restroom, but then -

“louis?” harry calls, opening stall doors until he reaches the he’s actually in. “louis, it’s harry. open up, please?” he rattles the door a bit before stopping when it’s obvious the door isn’t going to open for him. 

louis doesn’t answer, instead squeezing his legs tighter to his body. he hears more rattling and then a sigh, and louis expects him to leave. what he doesn’t expect is for harry to be crawling underneath the stall door into the stall with him. 

his jaw drops as he watches harry crawl under the stall door, getting up and dusting him off. not even zayn has done this before, and zayn’s done a lot of weird shit to get to louis. harry looks down at him and coo, sitting down next to him. 

“what’s wrong?” harry asks, hands in his lap. he’s picking at the fabric of his shirt while he waits for louis to answer, a nervous tick he has, louis recalls. 

instead of an answer, louis opens his phone and tosses it into harry’s lap. onscreen is the tweet about him and harry from  _ chad _ , and louis wants to puke thinking about it. 

harry slowly picks up the phone and looks at the screen, eyebrows furrowed. “lou, you know it’s not true,” is what harry says when he finally speaks. “he’s just a dick trying to get attention.”

louis shakes his head. “i don’t know how he got a photo of us, and i don’t like it. and what he says has merit, harry. look at the amount of followers he has. he has reaches almost as far as i have,” he sighs, extending his legs out.

“first of all, you’re a  _ pop punk _ twink,” harry teases, which causes louis to snort. “second, do you see the amount of fans who are defending you? that are saying they would love you no matter what? it’s not bad being gay, lou.”

“yes, it is!” louis slams his hands on the floor, throwing his head back against the wall. “haven't you heard? two of my  _ best  _ friends are homophobic. if i tell them, the band would be nothing! we would be done! gone! no more!” his chest heaves as he works himself up again.

“no, no, lou…” harry mumbles, pulling louis into his lap. it’s far from graceful, but somehow louis’ head ends up on harry’s shoulder. “it’s okay to be anything that isn’t a hateful human being. if niall and liam are not accepting of you being gay, then that’s on them. it’s not your fault that they’re assholes.”

louis sniffles on harry’s shoulder, raising a hand up to wipe away a tear. “we just had our big break, harry. if i tell them now, it’ll be my fault if we break up.”

“you are not accountable for the actions of others because you decided to be free.”

louis nods in lieu of a verbal response, hiding his face in harry’s neck. he feels harry’s lips press to his forehead in a silent kiss, and suddenly, louis feels like everything will be alright. 

(when they return to rehearsals, nobody questions when louis returns with red rimmed eyes, when his smile doesn’t reach his eyes, when he’s singing with half a heart. 

harry hangs back, away from everyone else, giving louis a thumbs up when he looks at him. something stirs inside of louis at the gesture, but that’s a problem for future louis to deal with.)

-

it all comes to a head five hours before they’re set to go onstage. 

“you’re  _ gay?!” _ niall shrieks, throwing his phone at louis. “when the fuck were you gonna tell us?”

on niall’s phone is a sound recording of the night in the alley, louis yelling  _ i’m gay  _ over and over on a loop. louis hates how vulnerable he sounds, how broken he sounds, and he hadn’t realized that someone had been recording. 

it’s not out to the media, but sent secretly from a burner account to niall, liam, zayn, and their label. zayn hadn’t looked at his phone quick enough, too busy getting makeup put on his already gorgeous face. thank god that it hasn’t been leaked to the media, but he’s terrified that that’s what’s next. 

“he’s gay?!” liam looks over, affronted. “why the hell did you not tell us?!”

louis can feel tears bubble up, starting to blur his vision as he tries to look at his friends. “i-“

“did you know, zayn?” niall points a finger at the man in the chair, who shrugs. “ _ did you know _ ?”

“i did,” zayn replies coolly, raising a hand. “however, it is not my place to out someone like this, especially with your track records.”

“our track records?!” niall lowers his hand, looking at zayn with murder in his eyes. “what the fuck do you mean by our track records?”

zayn shrugs again. “you guys just don’t have the best history with accepting anyone who isn’t cisgender and straight.” 

“since when!” niall yells, more mad than ever. liam is curling in on himself, red in the face from embarrassment. 

“you remember that one time, in uni? when that kid killed themselves after coming out? you said they  _ deserved  _ it, niall. that they  _ weren’t worth the oxygen.” _

niall’s mouth drops open, closing it, and opening it again, only to close it back. “so, what? that makes me homophobic?!”

jade tells zayn she’s done, he thanks her before getting up and walks over to niall. he gets up in his face, leaning close. “yes, it does.”

_ smack! _

the room goes quiet, red blooming on zayn’s cheek. zayn flexes his jaw, hand coming up to rub his cheek. niall looks furious from where louis is sitting, and he shrinks into the couch. 

“out!” jade yells, pushing niall away from zayn before he can do more damage. “you are going to lewis and getting changed,” she pushes niall out the door before grabbing liam, “and  _ you  _ are going to talk some sense into that cretin you call a friend!” she pushes liam out the door as well, slamming it in both of their faces before turning around to zayn. calm and collected the next moment, jade says, “now let’s fix your makeup, zayn.”

zayn nods, too shaken to speak as he goes back to the makeup chair. louis cries into his knees. 

-

their first show was tense, to say it delicately. 

they were in sync like no other, but there was no banter. there was no connection between the four. liam looked like he was watching a kitten die in front of him, zayn kept eyeing louis, niall beat his drums like he was going to break them any second with the force, and louis sang the best he could without putting too much effort into it. 

their first show of their first ever  _ real  _ tour and it’s shit. 

it gets even better when, immediately following leaving the stage, harry is pushing niall up against a wall. 

“the fuck you doing, mate?!” niall yells as harry gets in his face. 

“you give louis shit for being gay and i’ll make sure you never work in this industry again.”

niall laughs. “mate, i think i should be the one telling  _ you  _ that.”

the arm on niall’s chest pushes further into him. “you give louis shit for being gay,” harry says again, practically spitting in his face, “there will be hell to pay.”

“what hell?” niall spits back.

“oh, honey,” harry chuckles, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

with that, harry drops his arm from niall’s chest, walking away like nothing happened. the rest of the band just stand there, gawking. niall’s chest is heaving from the encounter, looking to his bandmates. 

“he’s fired.”

louis shakes himself out of his reverie. “no, he isn’t.”

“what do you mean? did you just see what he just did?!”

“mate, you deserved it,” zayn laughs, walking towards the dressing rooms. 

niall humphs, shooting daggers at louis. “you keep your boy in check, or i will petition to fire him.”

louis just looks at him before walking away as well, wrapping his arms around himself. he ignores the fact niall called harry  _ his boy. _

niall looks over to liam, gesturing wildly. “do i get any backup?”

liam just shrugged. “mate, i would be pissed too if you treated gay people like that.”

“oh, come off it, liam. you’re just as bad as me.”

“no, i’m actually not,” liam says. “i’m not the one who threw a phone at louis when finding out he’s gay.”

-

louis breathes in the sweet, sweet taste of nicotine, holding it for four, and blows the smoke out of his mouth. he continues this until the cigarette is done, taking another one out and just holds it in his fingers. he leans his head back against the bus, where nobody wants to go because of how heated everything is. eyes closed, louis can almost imagine how it was when they were first starting out, shitty van and all. 

it’s how harry finds him. 

“thought you’d be on the bus,” harry says, walking towards him with his hands in his jacket pockets. 

louis lets out a laugh. “and go in the middle of the shit show? please. i have some dignity left.”

harry doesn't return the laughter. “louis…”

“what, harry? what are you going to say?” louis lights up the cigarette in his hand, taking a drag. “you heard what happened. i’m lucky niall didn’t quit the band. liam too. and then you pulled that shit after we got offstage? jesus, harry. i’m not your boyfriend, i don’t  _ need  _ protectin’.”

louis hears harry groan, but he doesn’t look at him as he continues to smoke. “louis, i know i’m not your boyfriend. but someone had to stand up to him! and god knows you won’t.”

louis freezes. “what did you say?”

“that’s not what i meant.”

“no, harry. tell me what you meant. because it sounds a lot like you sayin’ that i can’t stand up for myself.”

harry drags his hands over his face. “look, i know you. and you’ve been too afraid to come out, so excuse me for jumping to conclusions.”

“you don’t know shit, harry. you think you know me because you’ve caught me crying a few times.  _ zayn _ knows me.  _ liam _ knows me. hell,  _ niall _ knows me.  _ you  _ are a hair stylist hired by my label, and nothing more.”

harry’s mouth drops open like he’s going to respond, but he quickly closes it and looks down. “i thought we were friends…”

“we ain’t shit, harry,” louis spats out, throwing his cigarette on the ground. “it’s best if you go back to your bus.” he turns and walks down to the bus door, not sparing a glance at harry. 

_ it’s for the best _ , he tells himself as he climbs into his bunk. 

_ no, it’s not,  _ his heart responds as he falls into a fitful sleep. 

-

there’s a day between now and their next show, so they're called to la for an emergency meeting. 

“i’ve heard from an anonymous source,”  _ the twitter hacker,  _ “that someone is gay.”

louis shrinks in his seat. that someone is  _ him.  _ he’s not good when put on the spot like this, hates it. he likes being the center of attention, being the frontman of his band, but when it’s serious shit, louis would rather drown in a sea of guitar picks than have all the attention on him. 

neil levels a look on louis, smiling. “of course, it’s no problem that you’re gay, louis. the problem here is the way  _ some people  _ have reacted.”

zayn elbows niall. niall elbows him back harder. 

“look, boys, we like you. we really like you guys. you make fantastic music, have a unique sound. you guys have brought in more ticket sales than any other band we’ve signed on your first tour. that’s some fantastic, wonderful stuff,” neil sighs. “but i will not deal with band members yelling at others for their sexual choices.”

“mr. hodgman, with all due respect, i think i’m allowed to be a little shocked at finding out my  _ best mate’s  _ sexuality,” niall tries, putting on his most charming smile.

“mr. horan, with all due respect,  _ bullshit,” _ neil replies, sitting back with his arms crossed. niall’s smile drops. “you have been told that there is a  _ zero  _ tolerance policy against homophobia. transphobia and the works. this extends to your band. we cannot, and will not, tolerate anyone being rude to their own band members, is that clear?”

niall nods. “why isn’t liam getting yelled at? he was there, too!”

“because, uh, i never said anything?” liam says, looking past niall and zayn to look at louis. “i apologize for anything i’ve done to you that might’ve hurt you, lou. i promise to be better in the future.”

“while your apology is accepted,” louis starts, “it doesn’t excuse the fact you fucked up.”

“language!” neil mutters.

liam frowns, nodding. “the only thing i can do is promise to be more aware and be better in the future.”

“oh, so liam gives a half arsed apology and he’s immediately back in the good graces?!” niall exclaims, looking around at his bandmates. 

“to be fair, niall, you've had a worst history with this,” zayn points out, patting louis on the leg. 

niall says nothing, but the look on his face says it all. 

“now,” neil claps his hands together, “is there anything else that needs to be discussed? no? you’re all free to go.”

-

louis has not been avoiding harry, no sir, no. it just so happens every time louis needs to get his hair done, he just sits in the bathroom of whatever arena they’re in until the last possible moment to get ready to go onstage. 

tensions in the band are still high. liam has been better about not being a dick. niall doesn’t say anything unless spoken to, and that’s an improvement if louis’ ever seen one. louis confides in liam more, now that he's not piggybacking off niall. it’s nice, to not have to hide a huge part of him anymore. 

they’re in the green room in denver, colorado, passing a ball between them as they wait to get makeup put on. harry is in a different room with all his hair supplies with niall, and thank god he is. louis can’t deal with his attitude right now. 

“you know, louis,” jade starts as she organizes her makeup, “you really broke harry’s heart.”

louis tries to not make a face as he pulls his hair back in a headband for the fifth show in a row. “what do you mean?”

“well, you  _ were  _ kind of mean to him,” she shrugs. “he came back to the bus crying.”

louis doesn’t need to hear this. “i don’t need to hear this before i’m going onstage, jay.”

“no, i think you do. all he was doing was looking out for you. you’ve been letting niall stomp all over you for far too long, and finally, he gets his ass whooped into shape. and then you yell at harry for what? standing up for you?”

“jade’s right, lou,” liam pipes in, catching the ball from zayn. “he’s had this sad frog face on since you yelled at him.”

“he’s been asking after you, too,” zayn adds. “don’t think we haven’t noticed you hiding away to avoid him.”

louis fidgets in the makeup chair, earning a light slap on the wrist from jade. “look, louis, we love you. we want what’s best for you,” she powders his nose as she speaks. “harry could make you really happy if you gave him a chance. ”

“whoa, whoa, what? gave him a chance? what is this? i’m not trying to date him,” louis defended. 

“oh, c’mon, loubear. i saw the way you looked at him when we first met the crew,” zayn says, walking over to louis and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “you had this starry eyed look to ya.”

“and that means i should date him?” honestly, why is he in a band with these people?

“just… consider it, lou,” liam tries. “it’s obvious that there’s something coming from his end. he looks at you already like you hung the stars.”

“can you guys stop talking so i can finish your makeup?” jade teases, half serious. 

louis just rolls his eyes. “sure, lima. sure.”

-

it’s hotel night, and while tensions in the band have considerably cooled, things between harry and louis haven’t. 

louis still hasn’t mended things with harry. it’s not that he doesn’t want to, he does. harry is a good person to be friends with, and at the very least he would like to patch things up to the point they could be friends again. he blames the not fixing things on being busy with tour, but in reality it’s because he’s a coward. 

louis tomlinson, pop punk band frontman, is a  _ coward.  _

the band and crew head out to a local club in austin, texas, under “strict” rules to not make a mess of themselves. louis makes a b-line to the bar, ordering a round of shots for everyone while the rest secure a table. once at the table, he passes everyone a shot glass. they cheers to it being a hotel night, and down the hatch it goes. 

after a couple more shots and a stella, louis is drawn out to the dance floor. though his outfit makes him stand out, he melts in with the crowd of people as a club remix of kesha‘s  _ timber  _ plays for them. 

louis is happy dancing all by himself when he feels two hands on his hips. lips cup his ear as they whisper, “do you mind?” it’s not a voice he recognizes, but fuck it. it’s a hotel night and they have all day to travel tomorrow. so he nods, pushing his ass back into this stranger’s crotch that make his hands tighten where they lay on his hips. 

they dance for a while, louis grinding on this man, who reveals himself as thom.  _ with an h!  _ he yells over the music.  _ like the guy from queer eye!  _ eventually, thom pulls him off the floor and offers him a drink. louis looks away to search for his bandmates and crew, only looking back when thom hands him the drink. 

at first, louis doesn't take a drink, too busy looking for zayn or liam in the throngs of people. thom seems insistent that he drinks it quickly, but louis waves him off. by the time he actually goes to take a sip, the drink is quite rudely smacked out of his hand. 

“the fuck, mate!” louis yells on instinct, looking up to see who the offender was. “the fuck you doing, harry!”

“we’re getting out of here,” harry grumbles loudly, grabbing louis by the arm. 

thom grabs louis’ other arm. “the hell you think you’re going with my twink?” he sneers. 

“ _ your what?!”  _ louis yells, ripping his arm out of thom’s grip. “i am not your anything, you twat.”

“louis, i’m serious,” harry pulls on his arm, trying to get away from thom. “we need to go.” 

“why? i was having so much fun with him!” louis pouts, trying to work his arm out of harry’s grip. 

“louis, let’s  _ go,” _ harry says again, pulling him out of the club. thom doesn’t go after them, but he can hear his voice as they retreat from him. 

there’s a car waiting outside for them when they get out, harry immediately pushing louis into the car before getting in himself. as soon as their seat belts are buckled, they are off to the hotels and louis is  _ pissed.  _

“don’t think you’re getting away with this,” he mumbles, his arms crossed over his chest. 

“louis, i fucking saved you back there. he was going to rape you,” harry says earnestly. 

“the fuck you mean? not all men are terrible, y-“

“he drugged your drink, louis,” harry interrupts, looking over at him. “i saw him do it while your back was turned.”

louis finally looks back over to harry, face softening. “he what?”

“drugged your drink. i saw you guys from across the club. he slipped something into your drink. i… i couldn’t let that happen to you.”

they are silent for the rest of the car ride. louis can’t believe he was almost drugged, hearing it sobered him up quickly. he fidgets in his seat, looking out the window and doing anything that wasn’t looking at harry. he felt terrible. even when he was a complete dick to harry, he still came and saved him. 

they arrive at the hotel ten minutes later, unbuckling themselves and thanking the driver as they got out. louis trails behind harry as they walk in, keeping his distance even in the lift up to their floor. when the lift opens up, harry walks out and waits for louis. 

louis stands in the hall patting his pockets for his room key. harry slips his hand into his pocket, holding out the key. 

“looking for this?” he asks, handing it over to louis. 

“how did you-“

“zayn gave it to me, knew you’d forget it,” harry explains, shrugging. 

“oh,” is all louis can come up with. 

the rock in his stomach is getting heavier and heavier with each passing moment. he needs to apologize, he needs to make this up to harry. 

“harry-“

“save it, lou,” harry says, holding his hand up to stop him from speaking. “i don’t need some speech about how you were wrong, how you didn’t mean to hurt me.”

louis doesn’t say anything, so harry continues. “it’s fine. i shouldn’t have gotten close, that’s my fault,” he sighs. “i just want to go back to being professional. i won’t cross any lines.”

louis sniffles, head down as tears start to fall from his face. harry has been nothing but  _ kind  _ and  _ gentle _ with him. and all he’s done is yelled in his face about how they weren’t anything. 

_ you keep your boy in check _ , niall’s words echo in his mind.  _ your boy _ . 

his heart flutters at the memory, butterflies replacing the rock in his tummy. he hasn’t always been the best at talking out his emotions or feelings. he’s always been defensive, a habit he picked up while being in the closet. it’s hard for him to recognize growing feelings for someone, as he’s always been hiding. but now he doesn’t have to hide, he can be free. 

so maybe that’s why he kisses harry.

louis lunges forward, grabbing ahold of harry’s face and crushing his lips with his own. he can taste the saltiness of his tears on both of their lips. it takes just a fraction of a second before harry’s responding, kissing back with just as much fervor as louis is. it causes him to cry harder, breaking their lips apart as he sobs. 

“hey, hey,” harry whispers, cupping louis’ face to get him to look at him. “it’s okay, lou.”

louis shakes his head. “it’s not,” he whimpers. “it’s not okay. i hurt you, i hurt you.”

“look at me,” harry looks into louis’ watery eyes. “it’s going to be okay, yeah?”

“i’m scared.”

harry smiles. “i’ll protect you.”

-

harry and louis end up sleeping in the same bed in louis’ room that night. nothing happened, honest. harry held louis to his chest, whispering encouraging words into his ear as they drifted off. 

it’s the best sleep louis has gotten since they started tour. 

it’s been a week since the kiss, and now they sneak off whenever they can to giggle into each other’s mouths, effectively ruining louis’ makeup that earns him an eye roll from jade. sometimes louis has to change shirts because harry wrinkled his too much to be stage worthy. 

louis is  _ happy _ , happier than he has been on a long time. 

harry is currently messing with his hair, which has been pulled back in a headband  _ once again.  _ it’s his go-to style these days. harry hates it purely because he’s a hair stylist and he likes to play with his hair. louis doesn’t mind his hair being played with, especially when it makes harry happy. 

“stooop,” louis giggles, pushing harry’s hands away. “it looks perfect.”

“no, it doesn’t,” harry laughs, dodging louis’ hands and trying to make his hair perfectly messy. “you need to stop wearing headbands all the time.”

“you need to stop being a dickweed all the time,” louis retorts, sticking tongue out. he laments and lets harry finish his hair, turning to him once he’s done to mess with harry’s hair. “your turn!” he smiles as he runs his hands through his hair, messing up his perfectly styled hair, eyes crinkling as he does so. 

harry looks down and smiles, shaking his head. when louis is done, he just forward and kisses louis. 

louis is only late to makeup by ten minutes. 

-

they're in cincinnati, ohio, a rare day off, when harry comes banging on his door. 

“what do you think you’re doing?” louis moans when he opens the hotel door to find a bright eyed harry. “do you know what time it is?”

“it’s nearly noon, lou,” harry beams. “and i’m taking you on a date.”

louis’ eyes bug out. “you’re doing what?”

“taking you,” harry pauses to kiss his forehead, “on a date.”

at first, he thinks harry is pulling his leg. he hasn’t been on a date since secondary school, when a lovely girl named daisy and him awkwardly slowed danced at a school function. later, they snuck behind the building, giggling as they kissed each other - both of theirs first kiss - before daisy pulls away, shaking her head. 

_ “maybe… i like girls,”  _ she had giggled out, which should’ve broken louis’ heart. and instead -

“ _ maybe… i like boys.” _

then, he sees the looks in harry’s eyes, the one he gets when he’s really serious. and he knows that harry is actually going to take him on a date. 

“let me get changed,” louis holds up a finger, and slams the door in harry’s face. 

-

harry and louis are laughing into each other’s mouths as they stumble back to louis’ hotel room. once they had been decked out in cincinnati reds gear, the pair spent the day in eden park, staring up at the sky and pointing to different clouds. lunch was at  _ skyline chili _ , where harry insisted that he try the famous chili. 

_ “i swear it’s good,” harry says as he eats his 3 way. _

“ _ this is hot dog chili,” louis crinkles his nose at the offending spaghetti dish.  _

_ “well, luckily,” harry smiles at him, “they have coneys, too.” _

after lunch, they head to the ballpark, to watch the la dodgers take on the cincinnati reds. harry spends the entire game explaining how baseball works, while louis gets exactly none of what he is saying. they get on the kiss cam, which louis then in turns flips off as they kiss. 

now they can’t seem to get their hands off each other. 

it started off with louis opening his door to his hotel room, inviting harry in. as louis shuts the door, harry crowds louis, attacking his mouth with his own with his hands on louis’ small hips. louis answers harry’s brutal kiss with the same amount of energy, arms going around his neck. 

“harry,” louis breathes as harry moves towards his neck, pulling on his long hair to get a better angle. “can’t… no marks…”

harry doesn’t listen, and louis doesn’t really mind. he bites at louis’ neck, marking him up as much as he can before he pulls away. “you make me crazy, lou,” he mumbles before peeling them off the door and onto the bed. 

louis giggles as he’s thrown onto the bed, meeting harry’s lips eagerly as he comes down onto him. he moans lowly, hips bucking up into harry’s thigh as he pulls on his shirt. “off, get this off.”

it doesn’t take long for them to find themselves naked and touching each other all over. harry is quick to get a hand on louis’ cock, thumbing over the head. it elicits the sweetest moans from louis, nothing louis would admit to, but it’s music to harry’s ears. he drops his mouth from louis’ lips to his neck again, biting more and more marks into the skin there. 

“gonna fuck you,” harry promises at his clavicle. “gonna fuck you so good, you can’t think about anything but my cock inside of you.”

louis whimpers in response, grabbing at harry’s arms. harry continues his lips south, littering his torso with reminders of him. he takes his hand off louis’ cock and rubs a dry finger against his hole, pushing gently against it. 

it’s a promise of what’s to come. 

“harry, harry  _ please,”  _ louis pleads, hand going to the back of his head. “want you.  _ need  _ you.”

harry lifts his head, green eyes sparkling in the dim light of the hotel room. “tell me what you want, baby.”

louis finally lifts his head from the bed, eyes locking on harry’s before his head falls back down. “fuck me,” he whispers, like a secret. “want you to fuck me.”

he feels a smile against his left thigh, and then nothing as harry pulls away. harry gets off the bed and comes back with a condom and lube, kissing louis softly on the lips. “don’t normally fuck on the first date, but i was feeling lucky,” he admits, kissing his nose. 

where harry got the supplies is beyond him, because louis doesn’t have them in his hotel bag, nor does he have it in his luggage on the bus. but it doesn’t matter, not when harry quickly lubes up his fingers and slips one inside of him. louis moans at the intrusion, hands balling up the sheets of the bedding. 

louis’ mind is racing as harry adds a second and a third finger, feeling fuller than ever compared to his own fingers. he wants to do everything with harry, ride him, get fucked from behind, hell. even missionary sounds divine when harry’s cock in the picture. 

“how do you want it, babe?” harry asks as he pulls his fingers out and rolls on the condom. god, the thought of doing it bare with the one harry styles one day would be the cherry on top. 

louis rolls onto his tummy, wiggling his ass towards harry. he looks over his shoulder and gives him a wicked grin, propping up his bum like he was presenting it to harry on a silver platter. 

harry does silent for a second, staring at louis like he’s the most beautiful thing in the world. he looks like he’s about ten seconds away from coming already, and that would be a shame. louis was really looking forward to getting fucked by that massive thing he calls a dick. 

“if you don’t get your dick in me in the next five seconds, i’m just going to get off without you,” louis warns, already reaching behind him to stick two fingers in his hole. 

except, harry smacks them away. “the only thing going into you is my cock,” he grumbles, lining himself up with louis’ hole and pushing in. 

louis is silent as harry bottoms out, head dropped and bottom lip caught in his teeth. the thing is, he’s overwhelmed. not in a bad way, but in a way that he wants to  _ cry _ . harry’s eyes search all over him for any sign of discomfort. 

“lou,” harry says, voice broken. “lou, look at me.”

he obliges, sighing as he looking over his shoulder to harry. the other smiles, leaning up to kiss him. “good boy,” he mumbles as he pulls away, kissing the bow of his brow. “‘m gonna fuck you now.”

louis laughs. “please do.”

harry laughs with him, pulling out slowly and pushing back in at the same pace. louis’ head drops again and his arms shake already from the pressure. he hasn’t been fucked in what feels like forever, and harry’s the biggest he’s gotten in years. 

harry builds up a rhythm, getting faster and faster as time goes on. louis is anything but quiet, face pushed into the pillow below him with his hands balled up in the sheets. sweet whimpers are falling out of his mouth when harry hits his prostate dead on, and louis would have a hand around himself if harry hadn’t beaten him to it. 

“taking my cock so well,” harry groans, hand moving in tandem with his hips. “made for my cock, isn’t that right?”

louis whines in response, trying to push his hips back so harry can hit his prostate again. his hands pull on the sheets, lifting his head up to look over his shoulder at harry. 

“fuck, baby,” harry drops down to kiss louis’ shoulder. “gonna come for me? gonna be a good boy and come?”

whimpering can be heard before they’re muffled, louis’ head dropping back down to the pillow. the whimpers turn into a loud scream as he comes over the bedding, back arching into the bed. harry works his hand over louis’ cock until it’s spent, digging his nails into his hip as he spills into the condom. his groans ring out through the room, echoing off the walls. 

louis collapses onto the bed and in his mess, turning his head to the side to be able to breathe. harry gingerly pulls out of louis, getting up to tie off the condom and toss it. when he gets back to the bed, it’s with a flannel and he’s pushing louis over out of his mess and onto his back. 

“you’re lucky there’s a second bed in here,” louis bites, no heat behind it. 

“not my fault someone wanted it from behind,” harry gives him a pointed look and, god, he’s lucky louis’ fucked out enough he doesn’t go after him. 

instead, he beats harry with the closest pillow he can reach. right in that pretty face of his. serves him right. 

-

being “involved,” as neil puts it, with your hair stylist is sometimes fun. it’s only sometimes because harry has been bugging louis to get a trim for a couple of weeks now. 

“no,” louis says in jade’s chair, looking over his shoulder to liam. “‘m not getting me hair. i said that in the beginning.”

jade forces his face forward. “you boys never focus on the task at hand.”

“lou, i say this with all the love in my heart, but you need a trim,” liam tells louis as he sits down on the couch next to zayn. “you’ve got split ends.”

“no, i don’t! harry would’ve told me by now!”

“he does,” zayn rolls his eyes. “every time he does your hair.”

louis turns and sticks his tongue out at the two before he’s forced back to face jade, who tsks at him. “focus.”

louis rolls his eyes. he’s has a retort on the tip of his tongue when niall and harry come back into the room. harry stands behind niall with a hand clasped around his neck, much like a father would do to his son. niall isn’t looking at anyone, eyes glued to the ground. 

“niall would like to say something,” harry says, looking over at the man in question. when niall doesn’t say anything, he squeezes the back of his neck. “niall.”

niall flinches, knocking harry’s hand off him. “okay, okay. god, you’re annoying.”

“not starting this off well, ni,” liam sing-songs, having some inkling of what’s about to happen. 

niall sends liam a dirty look before clearing his throat. “i’m sorry.”

“what was that?” zayn asks, hand cupping his ear to help him hear. “is the great niall horan  _ apologizing _ ?”

“i’ll slap you in the dick, malik,” niall bites, lunging toward him but stopping short.

“what are you sorry for, niall?” harry prompts, looking at niall like a stern father. 

niall groans. “i’m sorry for being a dickhead.”

“and?”

“being homophobic.”

“ _ and? _ ”

“not being supportive when i should’ve been. and for almost costing the band its label and putting up back at square one.”

“one more, nialler.”

niall sighs. “i’m sorry, louis, for making you scared to be yourself.”

“that all sounds forced, niall,” louis says, getting out of the chair when jade prompts him to.

“it comes from the heart, i swear,” niall defends. “harry here threatened to shave my head if i didn’t apologize soon.”

“it would’ve been a look,” louis sighed, pretending to day dream about what niall would’ve looked like bald. probably not well, but a look nonetheless. “what are you?”

“sorry,” niall mumbles.

“what are you?” louis asks louder, stepping towards niall.

“sorry.” this time it’s a little louder.

“i said, what are you?”

“sorry! sorry, i said i’m sorry!”

_ smack! _

silence follows the smack, the whole room looking at niall and louis. niall’s hand goes up to hold his cheek, groaning quietly. 

“that’s for being a little fucking shit for the past however many years, you twat head,” louis spits. “pull that shit again and i’ll kick you out of the band meself.”

niall nods, going towards jade for makeup to cover up the blooming red cheek. 

louis sighs, shoulders going up and down. “so,” he turns around to the rest of his band. “a haircut?”

-

the haircut becomes a charity thing. 

louis’ hair is long enough, harry determined, to be donated. they start collecting donations at the merch table for the event by letting the fans decide what haircut louis should get. it’s a fun way to get the fans involved, and they make a lot of money for charity. 

really, a win win.

the day of the last show of the tour is the day of the haircut. 

harry is absolutely  _ giddy _ . louis hasn't cut his hair in nearly two years and  _ harry _ has the honor of cutting it. he’s got all his things, shears with a swivel thumb ( _ because it helps with not getting carpal tunnel. _ ), metal guards and fat looking trimmers. 

louis looks over harry’s supplies, eyes bulging a little. “are you sure you’re not going to kill me?” he asks, looking back over at harry as he puts his apron on. 

there’s a snap of a cape and then it’s being clasped around louis’ neck. “baby, i would only kill you with love and affection,” harry punctuates his sentence with a kiss on his cheek. 

“camera,” zayn says, pointing to louis’ phone perched precariously on a table. 

“don’t care,” harry replies, kissing louis quick on the mouth. 

the instagram live has been rolling for the past couple minutes as harry sets up, and nobody’s really said anything since. the band, minus louis, are just out of shot of the camera, waiting for their cue to come cut louis’ hair. 

that was louis’ deal. his bandmates (and harry) do the major chops. 

once given the signal, harry starts. “hello everyone! where is the camera?” louis snickers as his bandmates point out the phone. harry points at the phone once he finds it. “there!” he mimics a gun shot, making a small  _ pew!  _ “hello again and welcome to the cutting of louis tomlinson. now, babes, you haven’t cut your hair in how long?”

“two years, harold. you know this,” louis teases, shaking his head. the braids harry has put in prior to the live starting hit his face. 

“ah, that is a long time. so today, we’re going to rectify that,” harry claps his hands, looking rather pleased with himself. “lou’s hair is long enough to donate, so we’re going to do just that. the fans have voted via donation bins at the merch stand. and they have spoken, so we are giving lou… drumroll please…” everyone in the room mimics drum sounds. “a peaky blinders look!”

“a what?” louis yells, looking back at harry and then to his band. 

“peaky blinders? the show we watched yesterday?”

“there are many men in that show, harry. please specify.”

“the one you called ‘ _ really bloody hot.’” _

“that doesn’t help!”

“cillian murphy!” zayn calls, coming on camera to show louis. “this guy.”

“oh! him!” louis looks to harry. “you have to be more specific with hot men.”

harry shakes his head. “okay, boys. come on over here.” zayn, niall, and liam come over, all holding scissors. “i’ve sectioned louis’ hair off, so you all can grab a section and cut between that hair tie and his head.” 

the cut is anticlimactic, but louis squeezes his eyes shut anyway. once the three braids are off his head, harry gets to work on fixing the mess his boys made. during the cut, they answer questions, and louis tries his hardest not to move too much. it’s hard, he wants to give harry a hard time. 

once every hair is styled into place, they bring out a mirror, instructing louis to close his eyes. he wants to touch, can feel the cool ac on his scalp, but he resists the urge. everyone counts down and upon opening his eyes, louis has to laugh. 

first of all, he looks good. like,  _ incredibly  _ good. he didn’t realize he could look so hot. second, his hair hasn’t been this short since he was a kid, and he kind of likes it. 

“is that a good laugh or a bad laugh?” zayn asks, more or less for harry. 

“good, definitely good, mate,” louis smiles, turning around to harry to give him a kiss. 

“ _ camera,”  _ zayn hisses, pulling louis away from harry. 

the stream ends there, and  _ HOT HAIRDRESSER???  _ trends on twitter. 

-

tour ends, and it’s not for a couple months that they are going back out on their europe leg. ideally, there’s no reason for louis to be in la.

except. 

harry. 

and neil. 

“so,” neil starts, looking between harry and louis in the conference room, “you’re in a relationship.”

harry squeezes his hand under the table. “yes.”

“how long?” neil sits back in his chair. 

“at least since half way through tour,” louis answers, squeezing harry’s hand back. 

“that’s fine,” neil says eventually. “we can’t control who you fall in love with. but,” he raises his hand, “a little heads up would’ve been nice.”

“we forgot?” louis tries, shrugging. “i haven’t been in a position to tell a manager i’m dating someone before.”

neil rolls his eyes. “just don’t leak a sex tape and we’ll be good.”

-

“good morning and welcome to the bbc radio one breakfast! i am your host, greg james, and we are joined by the pop punk band, owls on the avenue!”

the boys overlap in their hellos, smiling despite it being fucking seven in the morning. 

“now we’re here because of your new single, let’s talk about it.”

“it sort of just happened, yeah?” liam says, turning to his mates. “me and louis were writing and it just came to us.”

“oh, okay,” greg says, nodding his head. “any inspiration for the song, louis? maybe a boyfriend, perhaps?”

louis laughs, shaking his head. “yeah, yeah. m’boyfriend is a real winner, he is. getting a song written based on him and everything.”

“tell us about him.”

louis blushes. “he’s amazing, honestly. deals with my crap and my whining. gives wicked good haircuts, too, so that’s a bonus.”

greg laughs. “that we have seen. how’d you meet?”

“he’s our hair stylist, actually,” zayn pipes in. “all of us met him when we first signed to the label.”

“ooo, so a little office romance, cheeky!”

“yeah, took ‘em a while,” niall teases. 

“well, i won’t keep the world waiting any longer. we’ll be back with the boys of owls on the avenue after the world premiere of their new single,  _ happily.” _

**Author's Note:**

> ask me how i got my hair so big on tumblr @ voulezloux


End file.
